CMCI Lecturer Estrella Sendra publishes about the Senegalese Festival Back to the Roots in Wiriko, the Spanish online magazine specialised in African arts and cultures

Dr Estrella Sendra, Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries Education (Festivals and Events) has recently completed a fieldwork research period in Senegal, conducting participant observation in the Festival Saint-Louis Docs (2-6 May 2023), where she was also a jury member, Festival Stereo Africa (9-13 May 2023), the Festival Back to the Roots (12-20 May 2023), and the Festival Saint-Louis Jazz (25-29 May 2023).

During this period, Estrella has further participated in the International Conference Ousmane Sembène: Hétérotopies des possibles, a tribute to one of the pioneering figures of African cinema, Ousmane Sembène (1923-2007), in light of the centennial of the filmmaker. This article seeks to engage publicly with Spanish-speaking audiences, contributing to knowledge exchange between academia and the society.

The Festival Back to the Roots is an illustrative example of the active role of rooted cosmopolitans in the leadership of festivals in contexts where cultural policy does not sufficiently support the rich cultural production and management that characterises this community, a topic addressed in Estrella Sendra’s PhD thesis ‘Two-tier festivals in Senegal between the local and the international: a case study of the festival international de folklore et de percussion de Louga (FESFOP)’ (2018) and the journal article ‘Banlieue Films Festival (BFF): Growing Cinephilia and Filmmaking in Senegal’ (2021).

This article draws upon research supported by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF).

View the full article here.